Budapest public transport: tickets, passes and apps

Count your rides before you buy. A single ticket covers one line with no changes, so a simple there-and-back day already costs HUF 900–1,000 — more than a 24-hour pass. If you plan three or more rides in a day, or you are using trams and the metro to sightsee, the pass wins on both cost and hassle.

For a long weekend, the 72-hour pass is the usual pick: it covers the metro, trams, buses, trolleybuses and the HÉV suburban lines inside the city boundary. The Danube tram 2 is a sightseeing ride on a normal ticket, which alone justifies a pass on a two-day visit.

Skip passes only if you are walking everywhere and taking one or two rides. In that case buy singles from a machine or the app and validate each one.

Fares are set by BKK, the city transport authority, and change most years. Treat the numbers below as 2026 estimates and confirm on the BKK site or in the BudapestGO app before you rely on them.

Children under a set age, EU pensioners in some cases, and holders of a Budapest city card travel free or reduced — check the current rules, as the conditions are specific.

The BudapestGO app is the simplest option: buy and store tickets and passes on your phone, then show the QR code to an inspector. It also handles the airport bus and some suburban tickets. Download it before you land so you are not doing it on airport wifi.

Purple ticket machines at metro stations and major stops take bank cards and coins; many now accept contactless cards directly. Staffed BKK customer centres at the big metro interchanges sell passes and answer questions in English.

On board, stamp paper singles in the small red machines at the door. Inspectors are common on the metro and check passes as well as singles, so keep your phone charged or your pass to hand.

Budapest runs a flat fare inside the city boundary, so one ticket or pass covers the metro, trams, buses and trolleybuses without zone maths. The complication starts at the edges: HÉV suburban trains and Volánbusz regional buses charge extra once they leave the city, and you may need a supplementary ticket.

If you are heading to Szentendre, Gödöllő or the Buda hills on the HÉV, buy the extension at the same time as your ticket. A Budapest pass alone will not cover the outer section, and inspectors do check.

Bus 100E runs direct to Deák Ferenc tér in the centre in about 40 minutes and needs its own ticket, about HUF 2,200 — ordinary passes and singles do not cover it. Buy in the app or from the machine at the stop before boarding.

The cheaper route is bus 200E to Kőbánya-Kispest, then metro line 3 into the centre. That uses normal single tickets, so two tickets per person, and it takes longer with luggage. A 24- or 72-hour pass does not cover 100E but does cover the 200E plus metro combination once you are inside the city.

Taxis and Bolt from the airport are metered and regulated; agree the fare or use the app rather than accepting a driver who approaches you inside the terminal.

Validate paper tickets every time you board or change line; an unstamped ticket is treated as no ticket and the fine is steep. Passes bought in the app are active from the moment you tap them, so do not start one the night before a morning of travel.

Metro line 3 has been under renovation in sections in recent years, with replacement buses — check before you plan a route that depends on it. Metro line 1 (the small yellow line under Andrássy út) is a short heritage line and worth a ride on a normal ticket.

The Danube boats run by BKK on some routes are covered by normal passes in season; the longer sightseeing and Szentendre services are separate and seasonal, roughly April to October, and cancel in low water.